Cache plugin implement a backend caching mechanism that allows Ansible to store gathered facts or inventory source data without the performance hit of retrieving them from source.
The default cache plugin is the memory plugin, which only caches the data for the current execution of Ansible. Other plugins with persistent storage are available to allow caching the data across runs.
Only one cache plugin can be active at a time. You can enable a cache plugin in the Ansible configuration, either via environment variable:
export ANSIBLE_CACHE_PLUGIN=jsonfile
or in the ansible.cfg file:
[defaults]
fact_caching=redis
You will also need to configure other settings specific to each plugin. Consult the individual plugin documentation or the Ansible configuration for more details.
A custom cache plugin is enabled by dropping it into a cache_plugins directory adjacent to your play, inside a role, or by putting it in one of the directory sources configured in ansible.cfg.
Cache plugins are used automatically once they are enabled.
You can use ansible-doc -t cache -l to see the list of available plugins.
Use ansible-doc -t cache <plugin name> to see specific documentation and examples.
See also